Nutrition and Supplementation
Since I decided to do something more than wish I was about 25 pounds lighter, I have started exercising almost daily and have been doing a lot of research on nutrition and supplementation. The basic principles I have picked up are as follows:
- Eat more, smaller meals rather than less frequent and larger meals. This approach works much better for your metabolism.
- It is better to ingest more of your calories earlier in the day. Especially breakfast.
- To lose weight, you must ingest fewer calories than you burn. There is NO OTHER WAY.
- It is best to do cardio in the morning, but it is better to cardio anytime than not at all.
- Resistance training should be a part of any weight loss plan because more muscle means you burn more calories all day long. Of course, this means that you may be losing fat and not realize it because of the weight of the newly gained muscle.
- Within 30 minutes of finishing a workout you need to replenish your body’s nutrition.
Now, #6 is where I start to get confused and bogged down because this is where supplementation starts becoming a factor. How much protein do I need, how many carbs? Should I drink an MRP (meal replacement powder) or a protein shake (or am I just going to piss it all away)? Do I need to also drink a creatine beverage daily to get the most out of my resistance training? What about HGH (human growth hormones), energy pills, fat-eating pills, or huge packs of multvitamins?
There seems to be a lot of supplements out there, and a lot of hype to go along with them. Most of the claims cannot be verified, and when they can the results are often rather subtle. And another point of confusion for me is whether or not these supplements are really only necessary for bodybuilders and athletes. What about Average Joe who just wants to lose 25 pounds? If the gains for Average Joe is only a 5% improvement, then spending an extra $100/month is a waste. But if the gains are more like 15%, then I might consider it. Maybe another important fact to keep in mind is that no amount of supplements is a substitute for actually working out (really working out), and watching what you eat.
So if anyone has any advice for me, I would be pleased to listen. And I’m sure there are a lot of other people out there as well that could use this kind of advice. Even if you’re not an expert, let us know about your experience.
Nutrition can very quickly result in tired head. It gets very complicated when you get below the surface and there isn’t a ton of consensus. Remember the purpose of supplements, to supplement an incomplete diet. If you have a complete diet, you don’t need supplements. That being said, protein powders are convenient and much cheaper than consuming mass quantities of chicken breast. Plus, you have to eat a lot of salmon to get the amount of fish oil you need to get your Omega-3.
I don’t think there is any hardcore evidence that multiple smaller meals have a boosting effect on metabolism. I think it works because it keeps you from feeling hungry throughout the day. When you eat before you are hungry, you eat sensibly and avoid impulse eating.
Two and four are debatable, I think they are better thought of as tricks that we pull on ourselves to get things done. If you eat more of your calories earlier in the day, you will most likely consume fewer calories overall. Dinner is usually the largest meal of the day for most folks, if you change that to where it is the smallest, you’ll consume fewer calories. Cardio, and any exercise for that matter, first thing in the morning is a matter of consistency. People who work out first thing in the morning have been shown to be much more diligent.
Two and five are absolutely true. Resistance training increases your resting metabolism, increases bone strength and increases muscular strength. Indispensable results for those interested in staving off the effects of age.
Don’t get bogged down in the macros and calories though, it’s a sure fire way to get nutrition tired head. Don’t smoke, exercise one hour a day, reduce saturated fat and reduce (or eliminate if possible) refined carbohydrates. One of my favorite blogs, the Fanatic Cook, advocates these points. fanaticcook.blogspot.com
The list of surefire supplements is a short one, caveat emptor with the rest. Multivitamin, Protein Powder (a complex of the big three is best) and Fish Oil.